


Athena’s Spider

by RubyHunterOfArtemis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Calypso thinks Leo is crazy but still loves him, Clint is a god, Cooper is a rebel, Harley is sad boi, Heroes of Olympus and Marvel crossover, Leo likes his nicknames, Lila is protective, Marvel teens are demigods, Morgan is a secret, Multi, My First Fanfic, Pepper is a demigod, Peter Morgan and Harley are basically siblings, Prophecy, Shuri and Peter are Vine buds, Spiders, Spideychelle, Vibranium (Marvel), Vinegar, Wakanda, apparently Harley does too, betcha that one got you thinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyHunterOfArtemis/pseuds/RubyHunterOfArtemis
Summary: Peter Parker, along with seven other demigods  are sent on a quest to save one genius billionaire playboy philanthropist from the mother spider, Arachne. Not without getting advice from the most legendary demigods to date; The Seven, of course. Will Peter Parker and his new friends be able to save this Avenger, all while hiding his secret identity, Spider-Man?Heroes of Olympus and MCU crossover AUUpdating frequently (ish)
Relationships: Cooper Barton & Lila Barton, Cooper Barton/Cassie Lang, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Harley Keener/Surprise Male Character, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	1. A Second Chance (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction so, please no hate. Constructive criticism and grammar corrections are encouraged. 
> 
> Here's how the timeline works. All of the MCU movies happened except for Infinity War, Endgame, and Far From Home. Homecoming happened in between the prologue and chapter one. Civil War did happen, but it was worked out. 
> 
> This is after the Giant War, but Trials of Apollo never happened. 
> 
> The characters and their back storys' will be revealed later. The seven will be there, but not in the quest. There are no important OCs. 
> 
> Some of the timeline makes no sense, like some of the main demigods' ages, but just ignore it.  
> On with the story!

Ned's POV

Ned Leeds started trotting, his dark ash brown hair bouncing on his head, to the Big House when he heard of the meeting that had started. Yes, trotting. You see, Ned is half goat or a satyr. 

At Camp Half-Blood, the camp for demigods, The satyrs' jobs are to retrieve demigods and bring them to camp so they can be safe from monsters. 

The camp director and a centaur, Chiron had just called a meeting for all the satyrs. 

Ned wasn't super happy to be going to another meeting because it's not like he ever got to do anything or bring any half-bloods to camp. 

Ned wasn't as nature-oriented as all the other satyrs and always had a hard time fitting in. He could only play one or two tunes on his reed pipes that control nature around him, and he didn't talk to animals often. He still had the power though.

For these reasons, he had only ever been chosen to retrieve one half-blood. 

She was his only friend. At least, he thought she was his friend. Nobody could ever tell with her.  
"Hey loser". Speak of the devil. Michelle Jones or MJ was Ned's friend. She walked over to him, curly cocoa hair blowing in the soft breeze of the afternoon.

"Another meeting?" MJ asked. Ned nodded. "I don't understand why you go to those. Just skip them," She told him in her monotone voice. 

"MJ, you know I can't do that," Ned told her, exasperated. "Plus, maybe today is the day I get sent to bring a half-blood to camp!" 

MJ just rolled her eyes. "Well, since you're going, I'll join you. I always get some good sketches of you in my crisis sketchbook at these meetings."

"But you aren't allowed!-wait, you say that like you've done this before," Ned said suspiciously. 

MJ scoffed. "You're so oblivious. I come almost every meeting. Nobody notices because I blend in with the shadows."

MJ was a daughter of Hades, so she could control the dead and, as she mentioned, blend in with and control shadows.

Ned just shrugged and noticed that he arrived at the big house. He stepped inside to find ten other satyrs, including a mop of curly brown hair. Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild was there with Chiron, the centaur, sitting in wheelchair form at the end of the long table.

Ned's dark chocolate eyes widened when he spotted Grover. This meeting must be serious for the Lord of the Wild and best friend of Percy Jackson himself to be there. 

Ned's brown cheeks flushed in embarrassment when he noticed he was late and everyone stared at him as he took his seat.

Chiron cleared his throat. "I am sure you are all curious as to why our beloved Lord of the Wild is here with us today. I will allow him to explain."

"I need one of y'all do retrieve a few half-bloods," Grover stated bluntly. Everyone looked around confused. They did this all the time, how was it so important that Grover's presence was required?

"But this isn't just any old get-one half-blood-and-bring-them-back-to-camp thing," He paused for dramatic effect. "I want one of y'all to retrieve seven half-bloods."

All of the satyrs were whispering excitedly. Almost all satyrs loved an opportunity to impress Grover Underwood, including Ned. 

That was why Ned was disappointed. He knew he wouldn't be able to do this and he didn't have anyone to back him up if he did volunteer.

"I don't want to give this opportunity to just anyone." Grover explained. "I want to give it to somebody that deserves it. Any ideas, Chiron?"

"Well-"

"Ned should do it." Everyone was looking around confused, but Ned knew who said it. It was MJ. 

Chiron spotted her, as she had come out of the shadows. He didn't question why she was there. Instead he asked, "And why should Ned Leeds take on this task?"

"Cause he needs a second chance. Just because he isn't completely obsessed with nature, doesn't mean he doesn't have skill. He packs a good punch...or kick," She explained with confidence. 

Ned smiled at her then looked at Chiron and Grover.

Chiron seemed to be thinking about the situation and Grover was....beaming?

"Perfect!" Grover bleated. "Ned should definitely do this!" Ned and the rest of the satyr's eyes widened at his enthusiasm.

"I ask again. Why should Ned Leeds take on this task?" Chiron asked, though it seemed he already knew the answer as he smirked. 

"Everyone deserves a second chance and I would be thrilled to give you one, Ned. I became the Lord of the Wild because I was given a second chance. I'm excited to see you thrive," Grover responded. 

Ned grinned. He couldn't believe it! He got to retrieve not just one, but seven half-bloods. Then his smile faded into confusion.  
"I'm honoured to be given this opportunity, but why seven all at the same time by the same satyr?"

"Did I forget to explain that? Whoops." Grover laughed. "Rachel told us that there are seven half-bloods that need to be brought to camp together. She didn't know why, so we didn't question it." 

Everyone nodded because it made perfect sense. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was the oracle, so she said all the prophecies and sometimes could see into the future. Oh, and she was mortal.

"Alright, that concludes this meeting. All of you, except for Ned and Grover can leave," Chiron announced. The rest of the satyrs trotted out the door, slightly disappointed. Ned noticed MJ never left, but the others didn't seem to. 

Chiron started talking. "Ned," He looked over to the front of the table. "Grover will give you your locations and schools you have to attend." He looked over to Grover. 

He took that as his queue to start explaining. "You will start in Queens at a school called Midtown Tech." Ned's eyes widened. Wasn't that the school MJ went to?

He subtly looked over to the corner MJ was in. All he could see was her chestnut brown eyes, but he could tell she nodded at him. He looked back to Grover. 

"You will find two demigods in Queens," Grover continued. 

"Next you will find one in Rosehill, Tennessee." Interesting. Ned had never heard of Rosehill. "You won't have to attend school there". Ned raised his eyebrow at that. Grover didn't seem to notice.

"Next is somewhere in Missouri. This one might be hard. We can't seem to find the location of the house and there's no school to attend." What's with all these teenagers not going to school? And how could they not find the location? That never happens. We did have the power of the gods on our side, after all. 

Grover kept explaining. "Next is San Francisco." Ned winced. San Francisco was never the best place for demigods. It was all the way across the country. 

"You will hopefully have a girl with you, so she can attend Maple Ridge School for Girls. We can give you money so someone can go." A private school. Great. At least Ned didn't need to attend it.

"And lastly, Malibu." Ned winced again. All of California is bad for demigods, not just San Francisco.  
"You'll go to Bayberry School for Troubled Children." Ned wasn't surprised. In fact, he was surprised this was the only school for troubled kids. Demigods tend to have issues interacting with normal mortals. 

"Thanks, Grover," Ned told him as Grover handed him a list of the locations so he wouldn't forget. 

"You should start packing, Ned. We will send you off on your way tomorrow, as that is the first day of school. Good luck," Chiron said.  
Ned nodded at him and took that as his queue to leave. 

He found MJ standing outside the Big House's door. He assumed she shadow traveled out. 

She was the best person in camp at shadow traveling. Well, there was only one other person at camp that could. Nico Di Angelo. He barely ever shadow travels anymore because his boyfriend, Will Solace, insists he doesn't.  
Ned headed towards where he had his stuff, but not before he smiles at MJ.  
"Bye MJ!" Ned shouted. 

"Later, loser," she responded with a smirk on her face

He would see her at school tomorrow.


	2. Tiny Isn’t So Tiny

Peter's POV

"Just look at her Ned."

"I'm looking."

"She's so beautiful!"

"She's also very observant and can probably hear you right now." Peter ignored what Ned said and continued staring at her reading a book that seemed to be about Greek myths with admiration as Ned rolled his eyes. His eyes were so fixated on hers that he didn't notice the fact that he could actually read the book cover easily, despite his dyslexia.

His crush had the most carefree hairstyle he had ever seen with frizzy cocoa hair in a ponytail. He allowed himself to become engrossed in her chestnut brown eyes as they flitted over the words of her book and voluptuous lips pressed together in a focused line over her mixed African-American skin. 

"Peter, you barely even talk to MJ- I mean Michelle, how do you have a crush on her?" Ned asked him. "For all you know, she's super moody." Peter's head aggressively turned to Ned while he was in the middle of eating his sandwich. How could he say that? "What? No! I'm sure she's the nicest girl ever."

Ned looked like he was suppressing a laugh. "How would you know? You haven't said a word to her in your life," Peter told him. This time Ned actually burst into laughter. "Oh, if only you knew", he said, almost inaudibly. Peter raised an eyebrow at that but shrugged it off.

"Oh, wanna hang out tomorrow after school?" Peter asked. "My friend is visiting Queens, and I think you would like them."

"Sure, man. As long as I can geek out about Star Wars around them." Ned responded with a smile. Peter just laughed. 

He continued eating his lunch. "What do you have next?" Ned asked. 

"I have math after this," Peter answered, disappointed. He hated math. He always passed with flying colours, but it got boring when he didn't learn anything. 

He expected Ned to look at him in pity, but instead saw that he looked....relieved? That seemed sort of rude. He caught Ned quickly changing his expression into a frown. "Ugh, that's too bad. I have art."

Peter was starting to get slightly suspicious, but, once again, shrugged it off. Ned wouldn't hide anything from him. They'd been best friends since day one of school that year and he knows his biggest secret, Spider-Man.

Peter checked his watch. 12:58 P.M. "We should start heading to class. See you later, Ned," he told his best friend. 

"Bye, Peter!" They went their separate ways.

Peter turned the corner and found the math room. He sat down at a desk in the back row and looked off into space. He already knew everything anyways. After a while he asked to go to the bathroom. He stood up and walked into the hallway.

He was about to open the bathroom door, when he heard some people talking in hushed tones in the bathroom to his right with his enhanced senses. A normal person wouldn't have heard anything.

"Are you absolutely sure it's tiny?" A female, monotone voice asked. Peter had a feeling he knew the person that was talking, but he couldn't quite place the name.

"For the last time, I'm sure. That thing stinks like crazy." Wait a second. That sounded like Ned! Why is he talking about something tiny with a random girl?

"Okay, just making sure. We can't have Peter dying on us." It was the girl again. Peter dying? What the hell was she talking about? Sure, he gets pushed around by Flash, but dying seems like an exaggeration. Though, for some reason, she said it in a deadly serious tone.

Did Ned tell someone else about Spider-Man? Some random girl, at that?

"MJ, Peter isn't dying anytime soon as long as we're around," Ned told-MJ? Didn't Ned call Michelle MJ? Ned doesn't even know Michelle and here he is having a conversation with her! About Peter dying! What was going on?

"So when can we kill it?" Ned asked. Well that's concerning. Were Peter's classmates going crazy?

"Ned, there's supposed to be two here in Queens. I don't know if we can risk telling Peter before finding the second person. If he knows about his parentage, more monsters will come.

His parentage? His parents were dead, how do they have anything to do with monsters?

Peter moved closer to the door. "I can smell something," he heard Ned say. 

At that moment a small boy walked by. He looked Chinese with short black hair. Tiny, Peter thought his name was. He remembered the kid asking his name and where chess club was about seven months ago at the beginning of the school year. 

Wait, didn't Michelle and Ned mention something about Tiny? Peter didn't notice they were talking about Tiny McKeever. Something about him being stinky?

Tiny stopped in front of Peter and snarled. Peter took this as a red flag and widened his stance slightly, just in case. 

All of a sudden, Tiny started growing. And not just that! His head was disappearing and his face moved to his chest. His now huge brown eyes were on the front of his shoulders and his mouth was in the middle of his chest with some of the sharpest teeth Peter had seen. 

The monster charged at Peter and started to try and bite him. It was trying to eat him! Is this was Ned and Michelle meant by dying?

At first, Peter was frozen on the spot, but he quickly got into action. Using his spidey senses, he dodged the creature's mouth. 

While the monster was running at him, Peter slid underneath its legs to get behind it. Before the monster could understand where Peter went, he got out his web shooters and shot a couple webs to wrap around the creature.

Too his shock, the webs just broke once the monster bit it. Maybe the chest, A.K.A, the mouth wasn't the best spot. 

Peter remembered the new ear piece Mr. Stark made for him for sensory overloads and so he had his AI, Karen with him at all times. 

"Karen, what the hell is this thing?" he asked in a hushed tone as he dodged another swipe from the creature in question. No need to risk his identity any more than he already did with the web shooters that did absolutely nothing. 

"That seems to be an anthropophogus. They are cannibals from Greek mythology," she answered.

"So, I'm fighting a mythical creature that shouldn't exist," Peter said, mostly to himself. 

"That's right," Karen responded in a sincere voice.

Peter had tried get a couple punches in, but they did nothing, so he just continued dodging all of the anthropophogus's attacks. 

The creature jumped on Peter before he could move out of he way, and trapped him. Peter had his eyes closed and was prepared to get eaten, when the weight of the anthropophogus suddenly disappeared.

He hesitantly opened one eye and found that the monster was gone. Peter straightened and looked around. That's when he spotted her. 

Michelle was standing there with a bronze sword in hand and gold dust all over her leather jacket and in her messy cocoa hair. She looked bored. 

"Michelle?" Peter murmured. She smirked at him. At that moment, Ned came running out of the bathroom with a panicked expression. 

"Is Peter okay?" he asked hurriedly.

"Yes he is, idiot," Michelle reassured. "Oh, and put some pants on. No need to shock Peter more."

Peter found himself reverting his eyes from Michelle to Ned's legs. His eyes widened at what he saw. 

Fur. Fur and hooves! Peter's best friend had goat legs. "Okay, what the hell is happening!" Peter shouted. 

"Maybe we should leave school early today," Ned answered. 

—————-Time skip brought to you by Hermes Delivery Service—————

"So let me get this straight. All of those Greek myths with gods and goddesses are actually real," Peter started.   
"You", he pointed at Ned, "are a half goat called a satyr," Ned nodded, "and you, Michelle," he gestured to Michelle, "Your dad is Hades, god of the dead."

"Yup," she replied. "And my friends call me MJ." Peter just nodded and looked at Ned, sitting on the top bunk of his bed, then at Michelle or MJ sitting on the bottom. 

"Oh, and one of your parents is a god," Ned added. Peter's head swivelled to the top bed so fast, it looked like he got whiplash. 

"What?! I think that's a stretch. My mom died when she gave birth to me and my dad died in a plane crash when I was six!" Peter explained. 

"Okay, so it's his mom," MJ murmured to herself. Oh course, Peter heard her with his enhanced hearing.

"My mom isn't a goddess, MJ," Peter tried reasoning. "Έχετε ADHD?" (Do you have ADHD?) MJ asked. 

Peter's mouth hung open. How did she know? He just nodded at her, not noticing she was speaking in a completely different language. 

"δυσλεξία?" (Dyslexia?) Another nod. 

"πως το ήξερες?" (How did you know that?) Peter answered subconsciously. 

"Speak English, Peter," MJ told him with a smirk. Peter was confused at first, but he eyes widened, once again when he noticed what he said.

"What language was I just speaking?" he asked.   
"That was Ancient Greek, my friend," Ned responded. 

"Okay, so I'm a half-blood," Peter admitted. "Wow, my DNA is messed up." He noticed MJ raise an eyebrow at that, but Ned saved him. 

"Yeah, all of ours is," he said with a laugh. "So, once we get the others, we'll show you Camp Half-blood."

"First of all, cool, a camp for half-bloods! Second, others?" Peter said curiously. 

"We have to bring seven demigods to camp. You are our first one," MJ replied. "We've known you were a half-blood the whole time Ned was here, but we couldn't tell you until we found the other one."

"The other demigod you were supposed to find before you told me about all this?" Peter asked.

"How did you know?" Ned asked. 

"Just a hunch," was Peter's response. 

"How did you and the monster know where I was and that I was a demigod?" Peter asked.

"It's your smell," MJ replied with her bored voice. Peter was offended and slightly disappointed that his crush thinks he smells. "I don't smell!"

"Dude, like, listen, please. Half-bloods to monsters smell like McDonalds and for me, you demigods just have that smell," Ned assured Peter. He calmed down at that statement. 

Peter still had questions. "That thing-"

"-anthropophogus," MJ interrupted. 

"Right. My attacks didn't work on it." He glanced at Ned to see if he understood. Ned gave him a knowing look to tell that is did.

"Only specific medals work on monsters," MJ explained. 

"Oh, like vibranium?" Peter asked. It would make sense. Vibranium can do almost anything.

MJ seemed to be considering the idea. "Maybe. We use celestial bronze, imperial gold, or sometimes, stygian iron." Peter nodded. 

At that moment, Peter's Aunt May knocked on the door. "Come in!" He answered.

May entered and her face split in to a grin when she noticed the guests.

"Why, hello Ned!" Ned waved at her. "Who is this?" May asked, gesturing to MJ.

"I'm MJ. Ned's, and now Peter's friend," she responded. 

May smirked and said, "I've heard a lot about you, MJ." Peter glared at her. 

MJ didn't look surprised. "Well, you three should come eat a bit. I made mac and cheese," May said before she left.

"Thanks May!" Peter shouted and turned to MJ. "Ned, my friend, and I are hanging out tomorrow. You uh, can come i-if you want," Peter said awkwardly. MJ kept a straight face. Peter thought that meant no. "O-Or you don't have to. Only come if you want to, ya know?" He nervously laughed.

"Sure," was the answer he got. MJ stood up and started walking toward the dining room. Ned followed. Peter was just sitting there, grinning like an idiot.

"Are you coming, loser?" he heard MJ ask.

"Yup!" 

Eat and make new friends now, demigod later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I wrote the Greek correctly. Google Translate hehe.


	3. PEter Didn’t Sign Up For This

Peter's POV

"I just don't know what I'll do without you for a whole summer," May told Peter. He had just told her about Camp Half-Blood. He made sure to keep assuring her that he would be safe there. She was taking it surprisingly well.

"And what about Spider-Man?" she asked. Peter knew that Aunt May didn't like the idea of her nephew going out and kicking butt every night, but also knew that he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon, no matter what she said. 

"It'll take 19 minutes to swing from Long Island to Queens. I'll still patrol every night, assuming there's no trouble leaving camp," Peter explained while looking out the window at the balcony of their apartment.

He heard May sniffle and snapped his head to her. "May," he said in a sincere tone when he noticed she was crying.

He went over to the other end of the living room from the yellow chair he was sitting in to the couch and hugged her.

After a minute, Peter broke apart from his aunt and looked her in the eyes. They had so much worry in them, he started tearing up himself. "I'll be safe, May. I will never leave you alone," he told her and pulled her in another hug.

"I promise."

May nodded as Peter got up. "I'm gonna go on patrol. Night May!" Peter told her as he walked to his bedroom.

"Bye Peter," she waved. "Stay safe." He smiled at her and closed his door.

Once he had his blue and red suit on, he jumped out his window and started swinging around town, looking for possible crimes.

"Hey, Karen. How ya doing?" Peter asked his AI casually. He loved having conversations with Karen. 

"I'm doing well, Peter," she responded in his ear.

After about 20 minutes, Peter heard a scream he didn't need his Spidey Sense to hear. It sounded young. Maybe a teenager. He bolted over to where her heard it.

"How many people are there?" Peter asked Karen. He had to know how many people he would have to fight.

"It seems like the victim is the only person there," she answered. 

Peter raised his eyebrows. Was Karen malfunctioning? Why would someone scream if they weren't being attacked or mugged? Maybe this was a false alarm and the victim just got startled.

Peter was about to swing away, when Karen started speaking again. "There's one person and one creature," she said. Peter's eyes widened. A monster?

"It's a creature from Greek mythology called a harpy. This one seems to be quite aggressive." Yup. A monster. Since when did monsters attack random mortals? Didn't Ned and MJ mention that they only attacked demigods?

He swung over to an ally where he could see the harpy cornering a teenage girl. Peter could spot her short brown hair with a purple ombré and a tan complexion. She also had a black choker with black lipstick, as well as purple eyes that looked like they were glowing. She looked startled, but not overly concerned. 

"Here we go again" Peter heard the girl grumble. How was she not freaking out? Peter shook the thought off and jumped into action. He was about to kick the harpy in the back to knock the wind out of it, when he saw a purple glow coming from the corner the girl was in. 

Peter was shocked to see the glow was coming from the girl's hands. She looked over to him and raised an eyebrow at his reaction. He thought it was a completely justified reaction.

Mystery girl quickly turned her attention back to the harpy currently still cornering her and shot the purple glow from her hands to the harpy's stomach. 

The harpy dodged and would've ran into Peter if he hadn't jumped out of the way. The harpy's long black wings hit Peter in the face in the process. He fell backwards into a wall. He hissed at the pain. 

The harpy seemed to ignore the girl and only attack Peter. 

"Run!" He yelled to mystery girl. She looked at him and shook her head.

"How about no," she responded with a smirk. She used the purple glow, Peter accepted the fact that it was magic, and blasted it at the harpy.

The creature screamed and exploded into gold dust right in front of Peter's eyes. He just stood there for a minute before glancing at the girl expectantly.

"You're new to this, aren't you?" She said smugly. Peter brought his hand to his chest in mock hurt. "Am not. I've been Spider-Man for a while!"

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she responded. "When did you find out about them?" she gestured to the sky.

"Wha-ohhhh 'them'," the gods. "Today," he answered sheepishly. Mystery girl looked satisfied with his answer.

"So you don't know who your godly parent is," she confirmed. Peter nodded. "MJ said it's my mom."

The girl's eyes lit up. "You know MJ? Like, Michelle Jones?"

"Yeah, she goes to my school. So does Ned. He's a satyr."

She held her hand out. "Lou Ellen Blackstone, daughter of Hecate." Peter shook it.

"Spider-Man, son of... some goddess, I guess." She snickered.

"See you around Spidey," Lou Ellen said as she walked off. 

Peter waved and started swinging to the direction of his apartment. "Anything else, Karen?"

"I can't see anything, Peter. You should get some rest. You are still in slight shock. This demigod thing will take a long time for you to get used to," she responded. 

"Call MJ."

"Calling Michelle, hot face emoji 🥵." Peter groaned. He should really change MJ's contact name. He'd had it for a while because Ned gave it to him, but he never actually used it. 

"Hey, loser," he could hear MJ say in his ear. 

"Yes, uh hi, harpy," Peter mentally facepalmed. He would've done it physically if he wasn't swinging by webs. Smooth Peter. Real smooth. 

"What? Harpy? Did a harpy attack you? What are you doing out so late?" MJ asked nervously. Peter had never heard so much emotion come from MJ and honestly, he was touched.

"Yes, a harpy attacked me, but a girl named Lou Ellen Blackstone came over and killed it with magic. It was pretty cool to be honest. I'm going to have to ask her how her magic works if we-"

"Lou Ellen? Didn't know she lived here," MJ interrupted. 

"Yeah, anyways, how did I not get attacked hundreds of times before?" Peter asked. 

"Two reasons. The mist and your aura," MJ started. Peter had no clue what either of those could have to do with monsters.

"The mist is like a magic veil that hides our world from the mortal world. Basically, most mortals can't see what we can. We see a hellhound, mortals see a foxhound." That made enough sense to Peter. 

"Since you're a demigod, you have an aura. Monsters are naturally attracted to you. I think we mentioned this earlier today. When you find out you're a half-blood, you're aura becomes much stronger. Be prepared for a butt load of attacks," MJ explained. 

This was going to make patrol a lot harder, but he would manage. He nodded, then realized MJ couldn't see him and said, "Alright, that somewhat makes sense."

"Oh, and technology attracts monsters. It's basically a beacon asking for them to come. I advise not using a phone until some Hephaestus kid figures out how to make a demigod-safe phone. Leo Valdez himself hasn't even been able build one."

Peter's eyes widened. His whole suit was a beacon for monsters. And Karen is in his ear at all times. He was just going to have to risk it. But what about Aunt May? He couldn't put her in danger. No, any monster would ignore her. She's mortal. 

"Where are you now?" asked MJ. Peter quickly thought up a lie.

"I'm back at my apartment." He was close, after all. There was a pause in the call for a second.

"No you aren't," MJ said, worry laced in her voice. How on Earth did she know?

"What? How would you-"

"Michelle! Peter didn't mention you were coming over," Peter heard...Aunt May's muffled voice? MJ was at his apartment! "Shadow travel," was all she said to answer his question.

"Okay....anyways, I lied, I'm just about to get there," Peter said, telling the truth. He swung to his usual ally and changed back into normal clothes from his backpack he left there with, wrapped in webs, the call with MJ still going in the device in his ear because of Karen, and walked into the apartment through the door instead of his usual window. 

He immediately saw MJ sitting on his couch looking bored with her phone still pressed against her ear. She looked over and raised an eyebrow at his lack of phone. 

He quickly took his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and hoped Karen would understand that he would need the call to switch to his phone. 

She did. He hung up while muttering a thank you to his AI. Peter crossed his arms in the doorway, looking at MJ expectantly. 

"I need to check you for injuries," MJ stated simply. That caught May's attention. 

"Injuries? Again? Did you get hurt on-" Peter glared at his Aunt from across the kitchen to stop her from finishing that sentence.

"I got attacked by a harpy when I went out on a walk," Peter explained to May. It didn't seem to reassure her. Peter noticed. "Don't worry, another demigod killed it." Aunt May relaxed a bit.

MJ motioned Peter over to where she was sitting. He came and took a seat beside her, feeling slightly uncomfortable sitting this close to his crush. "Now, are there any injuries that you know of?" MJ asked. 

Karen started talking in Peter's ear. "You currently have a sprained right ankle and a headache. All other injuries have already been healed, Peter." He knew that his ankle would heal quickly, so he decided not to mention it.

"My head hurts from getting whacked in the head with a wing, but other than that, I'm just peachy," he answered. 

MJ held out her hand. Peter looked at her with a confused expression. She rolled her eyes. "Ankle."

Peter tried to hide his surprise. He didn't know if it worked. He gave her his left ankle . "Cmon Peter, stop being stubborn, I can see that swelling right ankle," MJ criticized. 

Peter begrudgingly lifted his other ankle for her to fix. 

"Alright, now, I'm not an expert at any levels, but I have patched up a couple sprained ankles myself. As in, I've had many," MJ started. She didn't wait for Peter to react. "I'll go get you some ice."

It took a moment for Peter to process what MJ said. Ice. ICE! Peter's worst enemy. Ever since the radioactive spider bite, he got cold really easily and ice hurt. "Wait, MJ no!" She was already back.

"Chill, it's just ice," she told him and before he could protest again, the ice was placed in his ankle.

"AHHHHH," Peter yelled. That hurt like hell! Or Hades if you prefer. Spiders can't thermoregulate, so Peter get's cold very easily. Then there's ice. That's how that goes.

MJ pulled the ice off Peter's ankle right away and looked at him with a concerned expression. "Peter? What was that?" she asked. 

Peter's ankle now hurt a lot more, so he had to take a second to process MJ's words. "I'm uh, kinda like, sensitive to the cold. And, yeah...ice and stuff," was all he could manage. 

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry," Peter chuckled a little. MJ frowned in confusion.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Peter told her in a pained voice. She shook her head in disappointment. 

"Well, now that I've made your ankle worse, I'll go get bandages. I'm sure May knows where they are," MJ said. "May, where are-"

Peter interrupted her. "Bottom left cupboard in my bedroom." Of course he knew where the first aid kit was. He had lots of bandages. She raised an eyebrow at the location. Peter shrugged sheepishly. 

"I touch ice a lot?" His statement sounded more like a question. MJ narrowed her eyes and..smirked? Weird reaction, but not too unusual for MJ. 

She pointed to the couch Peter was on. "Rest your ankle and don't move it. Oh, and I think you should elevate it," MJ told him. "I think that's what the Apollo kids always do," she mumbled to herself, which, of course, Peter heard with his enhanced hearing. He knew it wasn't something he shouldn't have heard though. 

Peter watched MJ walk to his room and let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Peter really wasn't the best at lying, but he thought he did okay. Sort of. 

He didn't bother elevating his leg. His super healing would heal his ankle quickly, so he didn't know how he would hide the fact that it didn't hurt the next day. He'll figure it out somehow. 

MJ came back and wrapped his ankle tightly. "Alright loser, that should do it. Get some sleep. Ya never know what could happen tomorrow or uh, what kind of dreams you could have." Dreams? Peter's dreams already sucked, He didn't know how they could get much worse. More like nightmares, actually. 

He would dream about Uncle Ben dying in his arms. He would dream about when Toomes collapsed that building on him. Maybe he would even have a dream about Mr. Stark scolding him. 

Peter really respected Tony Stark. He thought of him as a mentor. Maybe even a father figure, but he knew Mr. Stark wouldn't feel the same way. Peter always tried to make him proud of him, but he probably wished he hadn't asked Peter for help in Germany.

He would get invited to work in Mr. Stark's lab with him from time to time. Peter loved that.

Peter noticed he spaced out and let his attention wander back to his crush standing in front of him. "I'm going to head out and get some shut-eye. I suggest you do the same," MJ told me. 

"You'll just take the bus or walk home? Where do you even live?" Peter asked her. He noticed she never told him where she lived or even who her mom was. Probably just didn't get around to it.

"Same way as I got here. Shadow travel," MJ started, ignoring Peter's second question.

"Right. Okay, bye then," he replied with a wave.

She waved back at me and stepped backwards into a dark corner. Peter could see her fade into the shadows and she was gone. 

Peter just stood there for a second, absorbing what just happened. You'd think he'd be used to this. He even knew about Asgard stuff, after all.

After his shock, he walked to the bathroom to get ready for sleep. Once he was finished, he was out like a light.

That was one interesting night on patrol. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

MJ's POV

He did it again. Peter got detention.

See, MJ went to detention about twice every week or if Peter was there. Not because she needed to, but because she wanted to.

She looked over to her left where Peter was sitting. He had his palm to his chin looking bored as ever, but at the same time, seemed to be in deep thought. Like he was having some sort of existential crisis. 

MJ smirked. She knew exactly who she was drawing next. She opened her crisis sketchbook and began to replicate the image of the demigod beside her.

The teacher at the front of the room cleared his throat. "Michelle, you don't have detention". The teachers that supervised the students in detention often changed, so this guy didn't know about MJ's common appearances. 

"Oh, I just like coming here to draw people in crisis," she told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. That had definitely caught the teacher off-guard, but he remained silent. 

You see, what MJ said wasn't a lie, but there was more to it. One reason was to watch over Peter. Ya know, make sure he doesn't get himself killed and because he'd been acting slightly suspicious. She didn't know what it was though.

The second reason. MJ liked to...stay at school for as long as possible. Detention is almost always after school. We'll leave it at that. 

"So, Mr. Parker, why are you here again?" the teacher asked, directed to Peter. He looked down at a clipboard "It looks like you tend to visit a lot." The boy gulped.

"I uh...I might have missed a lot of school....again," he answered sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. MJ could basically see the sweat dripping down his forehead. This is what she meant by suspicious. He kept missing school. She didn't question it though. It was his life, not hers. She had secrets, he was naturally allowed to have some too. 

That didn't mean she wasn't going to investigate. She would just do it by herself silently, that's all. 

MJ probably would've left already, but she was going to wait for Peter to leave. She was going with him and Ned to see his friend. She wouldn't admit it, but she was kind of excited. 

MJ had a hard time getting close to people, but she had with Ned and she was sure she would with Peter. She trusted his judgment and was sure she would like Peter's friend. Not like she knew who it was. 

Peter refused to tell her or Ned who his friend was. All they knew what that they're a girl and they're visiting from outside of America.

"Alright Peter, you can leave now," the teacher said after way too many Captain America PSAs. Just in time, MJ had finished her sketch of existential-crisis-Peter. 

MJ crouched down to the level of her beige backpack and put away her things before looking over to Peter and finding out he was waiting for her in the doorway.

What a gentleman, she thought as she rolled her eyes in her mind. She could feel Peter's eyes on her as she stood up straight and walked over to him. 

As MJ got closer, she could see the excited sparkle in those russet brown eyes of his.

"I drew you today," MJ said as they started walking in the direction of the front loop. 

Peter's eyes lost a bit of their sparkle. Just a bit. MJ knew she told him about her crisis sketchbook that day. "Again? Really?"

"Yes really. It looked quite existential this time. What were you thinking about?" she inquired.

He looked at MJ with an undefinable glance. Was it nervous? Guilty maybe? "I was just thinking about last night," he answered. MJ nodded. She was fortunate with her safe trip to camp. She didn't encounter any monsters on the way. Peter? Not as much. 

After an awkward minute that felt like fifteen, Peter finally spoke again. "We'll be walking to Flushing Meadows to meet up with my friend." MJ stayed silent. Apparently, Peter took that as a bad sign. He hasn't hung out with MJ enough.

"U-unless you want to meet up somewhere else I can totally tex-"

"Peter," MJ interrupted his panicking. He looked over at her, his face slightly redder than before. She actually got the urge to calm him down. She smiled at him. "Corona Park is fine," she reassured him. MJ could see Peter let out a breath he was holding.

"Yeah yeah okay," he said under his breath. They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Ned came trotting over.

"We're meeting your mystery friend at Flushing, right?" he said as he came to a stop a step above them. Ned was extremely short, so he always did anything in his power to seem taller whether it was consciously or unconsciously. 

"Yup!" Peter explained, happy to have something to say. "Let's gooo!" he said in a comical voice while jumping extremely high with his arm pointing in the air. 

MJ inconspicuously smiled and confidently walked past the two idiots she loved spending her time with. Even though she only started talking to one of them yesterday, she felt like they had been friends for months.

She looked behind her shoulder to see Ned trying and failing to pull Peter along while his best friend is just staring at her with a dazed expression. She shook her head in false annoyance and took out her book, "My Bondage and My Freedom" by Frederick Douglass from her backpack to read while walking.

Peter must've been brought back to Earth; he came up beside her. "So uh, whatcha reading?" he asked. MJ looked up at him with an uninterested expression. She showed him the cover. "Nice," was all he said as he walked up to Ned. Probably to chat about Star Wars.

After about 20 minutes, MJ bumped into something. She looked up to see it was Ned staring at something. She followed his gaze to a 140-foot metal globe. She rolled her eyes. Oh my gods, it's a big metal ball! Amazing! Note the sarcasm.

She went over and sat on the edge of the fountain. "Have you losers never been here before?"

"What? No, I've been here lots. That's the Unisphere," Peter answered quickly, pointing at the huge globe while Ned simply shook his head. "The crime that happens here is insane," he added under his breath. He obviously thought nobody was going to hear him. Ned didn't seem to, but MJ did. 

"What was that, Peter?" she asked with a straight face to hide her suspiciousness. Peter froze, his face turning pale.

"Dah, nothing! Nothing." Okay, something was definitely up, but MJ stored it in her brain and decided she would let it go for now.

"When's your friend coming?" Ned inquired directed at Peter, completely oblivious to the previous conversation. Peter seemed more than happy to change the subject.

"She should be here at any moment now," he reassured his friends. "Oh, I forgot to mention, she probably won't be alone." That was when MJ heard a voice. 

"This corset is really uncomfortable, so can we all wrap this up and go home?" It was female with a Xhosa accent. 

"Sister, have you forgotten why we are here?" A male voice asked. 

"Of course not! We are here because...actually I completely forgot. I have no clue why we're stopping at Queens," she responded as she came in to view.

The girl had beautiful chocolate skin with her hair in dreadlocks. It was styled in a big bun at the top of her head. She had a brown corset overtop of a silver cropped t-shirt with a panther on it and dark indigo leggings. 

MJ knew who this was. Everyone did. This was Princess Shuri of Wakanda! MJ also spotted the leader of the Dora Milaje herself, Okoye with many others, as well. Oh, and King T'Challa was there too, if anyone cared. 

MJ made sure to hide her excitement. Ned on the other hand, did not. "Oh my gods," he squeaked.

"Shuri, this was the most formal I could get you. You need to represent Wakanda. And we came here for you! You wanted to stop by and see your friend," T'Challa explained. 

Okoye seemed to have noticed us. "Looks like he got here before us," she said with a smirk.

Shuri's head whipped over to us. Her eyes lit up when she made eye-contact with Peter. She ran over to us and crashed into a huge embrace.

Somehow, Peter stood his ground and hugged her back. That didn't mean Shuri wasn't squeezing his guts out. "H-hi Sh-shuri," he managed.

Meanwhile, Ned was standing there with his mouth wide open. Was he star struck? He turned to MJ and gave her a look. A look she couldn't quite explain, but she knew what it meant.

She gave him a look that said really? He nodded. MJ turned her attention back to Peter and the princess of Wakanda. She cleared her throat.

Zeus knows how Peter managed to escape from the hug. "Oh, right, sorry. This is Shuri," he started motioning to Shuri. "Shuri, these are my best friends, Ned and MJ."

MJ's heart warmed when he said she was his best friend. She ignored it. 

"Hi!" Shuri said cheerfully as she held out her hand for MJ. She shook it slowly. Shuri moved on to Ned who completely ignored her hand. That was not like Ned at all. 

"But but wait," Ned stuttered. "Sh-she is huh?" MJ rolled her eyes.

"Do you have ADHD and dyslexia?" She asked bluntly. Just get straight to the point. Peter's eyes widened noticing what she was implying.

Shuri gave her a perplexed look. "Uhm, actually, yes I do." Peter's jaw dropped, but quickly closed looking like he thought of something. 

"But she has two parents," he said, directed at MJ and Ned. Shuri's head kept moving around, focusing on the three of their faces, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. 

"My father is dead...." she stated. "He died almost a year ago." MJ frowned. One of Shuri's parents wasn't biological. That was the only explanation. 

Ned could smell demigods and by the look he gave MJ, Shuri was the second demigod he was supposed to find in Queens. 

"Uh Shuri," Peter started. "I think we should talk." She looked over at him and seeing his serious face, nodded in concern. 

Peter looked over at Shuri's 'entourage'. "In private," he added, but nodded at MJ and Ned indicating that he wasn't referring to them. 

The four teenagers walked to the other side of the fountain, Peter and Shuri adding wave to T'Challa and the Dora Milaje. "See you in a bit, brother!"

MJ hoped that wasn't going to end up being a lie.


	5. That Hurt Like a Butt Cheek on a Stick

Shuri's POV

"BAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA." They had got to be kidding her. Shuri wasn't exactly paying attention to the other's reactions as she rolled on the ground, having a laughing fit. She was moving around so much one would think she was having a seizure.

The laughing hurt so much with her corset, she had to take it off.

Peter and MJ (Ned was fan-goating over Shuri the whole time) just told her that she was a demigod! Who did they think she was to believe something as dumb as that!?

They went on explaining all the stuff about the gods and blah blah blah.

They had the most intense expressions. Shuri was honestly impressed by their acting.

She decided to go with it until she just couldn't take it anymore. That's how she got to where she was now.

Rolling in the ground like a dying fish.

"SHURI!" Peter yelled for probably the tenth time. She managed to calm herself down and give him her attention.

Well, about 12% of it was reciting vines in her mind (did you know that the capacity of someone's brain is considered virtually unlimited?), but that's not important.

Peter looked at her with the same dead-serious expression causing Shuri to use that 12% of attention left to focus on not cackling once again.

Peter took a deep breath. "We aren't joking around, Shuri. You really are a half-blood. You have to come to camp."

"If you were not kidding, how would you even know? I have two parents! Yes, one has-" she cleared her throat, trying to keep herself in check. This was still a sensitive subject for her. "-passed, but he was my father. King T'Chaka was my biological father and Queen Ramonda is my biological mother," she finished, all the joking aura gone.

MJ spoke up. "Have you ever actually checked?" Shuri opened her mouth to confirm but closed it once she noticed she, in fact, had not.

"Th-there was no need to. Everyone in Wakanda knew and was certain those were my parents," she retaliated.

MJ just looked at her with a straight face, not breaking eye contact. They stared at each other for a while until Shuri finally gives up and looks away. "I still do not believe you," she stated stubbornly. "If Greek gods were real, I would have known about them."

Peter, MJ, and Ned (finally calmed yourself down there, buddy?) just shook their heads simultaneously. It was kinda creepy.

"Let's go eat stuff or something," Peter suggested.

Shuri nodded. "I do believe in the power of stuff." Peter smiled at her, obviously understanding the reference.

"I noticed a Starbucks about two kilometres from here," Shuri informed the others. Ned opened his mouth about to say something when MJ interrupted him.

"1.243 miles," MJ told him. That's oddly specific, Shuri thought. Ned closed his mouth and nodded, satisfied by that answer.

Shuri rolled her eyes. Americans.

Peter must've noticed Shuri's unimpressed expression and put on a smile. "That sounds good, Shuri."

"Onward!" Shuri yelled as she pointed in the direction she came from at the other side of the Unisphere. She heard Ned and Peter laugh softly and assumed MJ was smirking as the four friends started walking to Starbucks.

——-This Time skip is brought to you by Amazon——-

They had been walking for about 1 1/2 kilometres; it was noticeably awkward. MJ read the whole time while Ned and Peter whispered to each other. Shuri didn't bother to try and begin a conversation yet. They were allowed to whisper to each other. They were probably discussing how annoying it was that Shuri wasn't falling for their Greek gods prank.

But how would she? Shuri knew so much. Some even say she knew everything. That was obviously incorrect. Nothing and nobody in the world knows everything, not even the most advanced software or hardware system.

Somehow, she didn't know about monsters, Greek (and Roman) gods, demigods and more. It sure did seem far fetched to her. Plus, there was already Asgard and other space things; how would there be more gods of the same things.

She supposed the best friends had finished talking because Peter turned to her. "So, why are you here in New York?" he asked.

Shuri was grateful for the conversation starter. "My brother is here to visit Stark at the Avengers Compound. When I heard they were going to New York, I practically had to beg them to allow me to join them and visit you in Queens."

Peter smiled.

They finally got to Starbucks and stood in line to order. The barista was a beautiful woman with black, silky hair and green eyes.

Ned sucked in a breath when it was his turn to order. "I-I'll g-g-get uhhh a-a c-cake po-pop, p-please," he stuttered. Why was all Ned doing was getting surprised?? Did he have a crush on the barista or something?

Peter looked at Ned with an urgent expression. Shuri could even notice a bit of concern in MJ's usual straight face. We all ordered our food and drinks and sat down at a round table in the corner.

Just as Shuri was about to take a bite of her croissant, MJ, Peter, And Ned all said "Monster," at the same time.

What the hell? This surprised Shuri so much she had to do a little juggling to stop her croissant from falling out of her hands.

"STAP, I could've dropped my croissant!" She yelled at them. Peter burst out laughing, MJ rolled her eyes, and Ned just looked as confused as ever.

"Shut up!" MJ yelled as she slammed her hands on the table. That didn't just make Peter shut up; it made the whole Starbucks shut up.

MJ noticed this and sank into her chair and covering her face with her hands and hair, hating the attention. Her breathing began to quicken slightly.

Shuri put a comforting hand on her shoulder and glared at anyone who was staring. Shuri has been told she had a pretty decent death glare, so it was no surprise it worked.

Everyone went back to their conversations, so Shuri took her hand off MJ's shoulder.

Peter opened his mouth, probably to say something comforting when MJ looked up and out her index finger to his mouth as he closed it. "Save it," she said. He nodded understandingly.

"It's the barista?" Peter asked.

Ned shook his head. "No, look." He pointed to the spot next to the barista a little lower. There Shuri saw a little dachshund sitting calmly. It was one of the cutest weiner dogs she had ever seen! It was dark brown with lighter brown spots all over its body and adorable brown eyes.

"I don't know what it is," Ned stated. Shuri's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean you don't know what it is. It is a dog. "

"Shuri, that dog is a monster," Peter told her.

"Oh my god-"

"Gods," Ned interrupted with his index finger pointing up. Shuri glared at him. His hand plopped in his lap.

"-I can not believe you are still going with this!" Shuri exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Ugh, we don't have time for this," MJ muttered. She took off her backpack and started searching in it.

Eventually, she took out what looked to be a sword folded in half. She flicked her wrist and the weapon extended to its full length. Her face completely straight the whole time.

Shuri had to admit, it was badass.

Her eyes widened. Are they really taking this prank that far? Is this a prank? No, of course, it is, Shuri thought.

MJ noticed her expression and smirked. She did some more rummaging in her backpack. Then she took out a dagger! It seemed to be made out of the same bronze-coloured metal as the sword. It was pretty basic.

She handed it to Peter. His eyes lit up when MJ placed the weapon in his hands. "You'll definitely need that," she told him. He just nodded, smiling at the dagger.

"What type of metal is that?" Shuri asked as she pointed at the dagger.

Ned smiled. "That's celestial bronze. It's a type of magic metal that's very rare. Only this and a few other metals like imperial gold and Stygian iron can have any effect on monsters." Shuri's eyes narrowed.

"Those are the only types of metal?" she asked. Ned nodded.

"It's some sort of metal from the gods," Peter added.

"Never heard of it," Shuri stated. MJ scoffed.

Anyways, we should probably take this fight that's going to happen outside," MJ told them.

The boys nodded. Shuri felt no reason to stay in the restaurant, so she decided she would come. Maybe she was wrong about the gods not being real. I guess I'll find out, she thought.

They all went outside and went around the corner to the left of the building. "Okay, here's the plan," Peter started with confidence.

"Since when did you know what to do in this situation?" MJ asked. In a second, Peter's confidence was gone.

"Uhhhhhh-"

"I showed him the ropes!" Ned said hurriedly. Peter looked from him to MJ nodding like crazy.

"Okay then....continue, I guess," MJ said with narrowed eyes.

Peter gulped. "Well, I'm going to assume that the dog is going to grow once it transforms into a monster, so we might need to get on higher ground if we go for the head," he started.

"I'll climb to the roof of Starbucks. MJ can charge from the right; Ned from here. The order will be MJ, me, then Ned." Everyone nodded.

"How are you going to climb up the building?" MJ asked.

"Oh uh, I'm sure I'll find something at the back," Peter answered. MJ seemed satisfied with his answer.

Shuri, not so much. "Two things. One: you are just going to jump off a building?? You will not be in any condition to fight after that," she ranted.

"I'll land on the monster, I'm sure of it," was all Peter said about that.

"Okay fine, but two: what am I going to do?" Peter seemed to ponder that idea for a minute.

"You'll come with me," MJ answered for him with a smirk. Shuri smiled.

"I like her," she said as she pointed at MJ.

"Sure, why not," Peter said. Shuri was grateful for him allowing her to fight. It was nice to have someone trust you for once.

"Are all of us necessary for just one monster?" Ned asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Peter answered with a shrug. "Now we wait for the cro-dog to come out." Shuri raised an eyebrow at the slip-up.

The four friends (yes, Shuri considered Ned and MJ her friends now) stood waiting for what seemed like forever at their different spots.

Shuri and MJ were waiting at the right side of the building with their back against the wall. "You want a weapon?" MJ whispered to her.

Shuri shook her head. "I am self-taught in hand-to-hand combat. I got this," she answered with a confident smile. MJ nodded curtly.

Shuri looked up at the roof to see Peter standing at the edge in a fighting stance. How the hell did he get up there? Shuri thought.

She was sure he wasn't going to be able to climb to the top of the building and would have to join Ned.

When they were going around the building, Shuri looked to see what he could use. There was absolutely nothing he could've held on to. She would have to ask him after they do whatever they were about to do.

After about 30 seconds, the 'dachshund' unsurprisingly, walked out the door. Shuri glanced at MJ to see she had a hand up and her index finger pointing to the sky, indicating to wait.

Shuri nodded and got in a running position with her fists to her chest.

The dog started transforming in the middle of the parking lot outside the Starbucks.

Its body started growing, but its ears began to shrink and point up like a cat. As it grew, it started looking more and more like a hyena with sharp teeth and eyes with an evil glint to them. It wasn't the most visually appealing animal in the world.

"Oh my god, you guys were not kidding," Shuri whispered, astonished. Definitely not a prank.

MJ rolled her eyes. "Who would've thought. Everyone knew you were being ridiculous," she murmured mostly to herself.

"Who's 'everyone'?" Shuri asked.

MJ smirked and turned her head to the side like she was looking at something. "The fans." Shuri just shook her head in perplexion but let it go.

The monster looked scary and hungry. Shuri wasn't backing down. Definitely not.

"That's a crocotta," MJ whispered quietly, so Shuri could just hear.

Shuri felt like she had heard the name before, probably from a book, but couldn't remember anything about a crocotta.

The monster growled and sniffed the air to try and find the demigods (and satyr) hiding. That was when MJ whispered, "Go."

They charged. Shuri began to punch the crocotta in the head while avoiding decapitation.

The creature started clawing at her rapidly. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her stomach, the spot that happens to be completely bare, as she was wearing a crop-top.

Maybe corsets are not that bad, Shuri thought as she gripped her belly.

"Bhentse emfene!" She cursed in Xhosa.

MJ looked over to her and seemed to swear under her own breath. "You good?" She asked.

"Yeah, just peachy!" Shuri answered partially sarcastically but waved her hand, indicating to not worry about her. MJ brought her attention back to the threat.

Right, there was a threat. Shuri continued punching the crocotta wherever she could hit.

It wasn't doing much damage, so she decided to switch to the stomach, the thing currently facing the ground.

"I'm going to kick it in the belly!" Shuri said, yelling over the loud sound of growling and snapping of teeth.

"I'll keep it distracted!" MJ responded, eyes wide.

Shuri could either get the crocotta to go on its hind legs or slide underneath it.

The monster was focused on MJ, who was continually slashing at its side, so Shuri could probably get under with ease.

She backed up a tad to get a running start. She started sprinting towards the side of the creature. Just as she was about to slam into it, she slid down to the ground to get to the belly.

Once under, she kicked up towards the crocotta and knocked it over.

Peter took this as his cue to jump. He leaped from the roof right onto the monster's head, slicing off its head.

The crocotta exploded into golden dust. Shuri started panting from the adrenaline rush.

She put her hand on her head because she hit it quite hard when she flipped herself on the ground. "Mother trucker dude," she started.

"That hurt like a butt cheek on a stick!" Peter joined in. They started giggling.

Apparently, the vine reference was Ned's cue to come. "AHHHHHHHH," he yelled as he charged at what he thought was the crocotta, but was just them and a pile of dust.

That hits a little close to home, Shuri thought, although she didn't know why dust would have that effect on her.

Peter was quick to stop Ned from trampling the three half-bloods. "NED NED Ned Ned Ned calm down!" he shouted. Ned seemed to acknowledge the others' presence and his face heated up.

"Uh, sorry, guys," he apologized as he nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Shuri wasn't really paying attention, though. "I am really a half-blood," she muttered to herself. She didn't know how to feel about the fact.

Peter looked over at her, concern splashed across his face. Shuri shook her head at him, indicating her need to be in her thoughts. He nodded.

One of her parents wasn't biological. That was the fact that hit the hardest. Was it her mom or dad?

"So, what is next?" Shuri asked.

MJ answered. "We need to retrieve five more half-bloods before we can go to Camp."

Right. Shuri forgot about the camp they told her about. MJ and Ned seemed to really like it.

"You can stay here; we'll get you when we get have the rest, or you can come with us," Ned explained.

Shuri smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, I am coming," Everyone beamed. "on one condition." The smiles faltered.

"I have to finish my croissant." Everyone started laughing and went back in Starbucks to finish their food that was waiting for them right where they left it.


	6. Would This be Considered Treason?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter kind of came out of nowhere, so I'm sorry if it's boring. I was planning on having them out of New York in this chapter, but I guess that'll have to wait. Hope you guys like slow burns 😏

Peter's POV

Peter was trying to keep it cool. He really was. 

He just made Shuri suspicious as well as MJ! It was all because of his stupid plan. It worked, but he could've thought of something less risky. 

There was nothing at the back of that building. He almost said the name of the monster that Karen had told him. 

Peter continued to silently scold himself whilst everyone began finishing their treats and drinks. That included Shuri's finishing of her croissant.

"Alright, you've finished your croissant. Are you satisfied?" MJ asked exasperated. 

"I will never be satisfied," Shuri answered in a sing-song voice. She obviously decided she should have answered better when she saw MJ's pissed expression.

She cleared her throat. "So, where are these, what, five other half-bloods?"

"Right, the next one is in a place called Rosehill in-," Ned started. 

"Tennessee," Shuri finished. Peter was surprised. He didn't know that place existed.

"Yeah, I've heard of it," Shuri said as a response to the slightly socked faces of Ned and Peter. MJ seemed unfazed, but that was to be expected. 

"How are we going to get there?" Peter asked. Everyone seemed to ponder his question until Shuri's eyes lit up. 

"Talon fighter!" She exclaimed. 

"A what fighter?" Ned asked. Oh Ned. 

"A Royal Talon Fighter. It's a Wakandan jet," Peter said with a snicker. Ned's face filled with understanding and took a sip of his drink. 

Peter looked at Shuri with a skeptical expression. "And where do you expect we get one of those?"

Shuri smirked. That didn't comfort Peter in the slightest. "We steal the one I came in, of course," she answered with a grin. 

Ned spit out the drink that he had just finished. "Steal??" he said with wide eyes. 

MJ nodded slowly "It makes the most sense," she explained. "But your brother left with it."

"Not far," Shuri responded. "He went to the Avengers Compound where Stark is."

Peter's brows raised then mentally slapped himself when he realized it was obvious. Hopefully, they would be in and out without being seen. 

He really didn't want to talk to Shuri about the fact that-

"Peter knows Tony Stark!" Peter facepalmed. Really Ned?

"I am not asking Mr. Stark to borrow King T'Challa's ship," Peter cleared up as he glared at Ned. Shuri raised an eyebrow at Peter. He couldn't tell if it was because of him knowing Mr. Stark or because of the way he addressed her brother so formally. 

"I am aware of your acquaintance with Stark, Peter," Shuri told him. Peter scoffed a bit at acquaintance. He thought of Mr. Stark as a mentor. A father figure. They did see each other quite a bit, after all.

And of course Shuri knew. They met when King T'Challa was checking in on New York on a lab day. Peter must've been really out-of-it. He was acting like an idiot.

"Why can't you ask?" MJ questioned Peter. She knew about Peter's 'internship' as well as his whole decathlon team. The difference was that she actually believed him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "He would ask why I need it and Mr. Stark can always tell when I lie." MJ rolled her eyes but seemed to understand by the look she gave Peter.

"So, we're a jet. Preferably the Talon Fighter. They are made of vibranium and are a lot faster," Shuri concluded. Peter nodded reluctantly.

"I'll call a taxi to get to the tower," she added as she held up her wrist to show off her kimoyo beads. Peter noticed MJ and Ned wince at the thought of technology use. Definitely calling, but they would just have to deal with the fight that had an 80% chance of happening.

\-----------Time skip brought to you by D.O.A. Recording Studios-----------

The next thing Peter knew, he was cramped in the back of a taxi with three other people. It was especially squishy because Ned was larger than the rest of them.

After about 25 minutes, but what felt like an hour, the group of friends arrived near the Avengers Compound. 

Somehow, they went the whole ride without a single monster attack, despite Shuri's use of her kimoyo beads. 

They had to ask to be dropped let off a few blocks down. You couldn't just ask a taxi driver to take you to where the freaking Avengers live!

MJ motioned the friends to a forest-like area beside the sidewalk where they stood. They followed her in the depths of the birch trees. 

"Do we really have to hide like this?" Ned asked in a hushed tone. "Won't there be lots of people out at...actually I don't know what time it is. 

"It is currently 6:19 P.M," Karen informed Peter in his ear making him jump slightly. 

It was a good thing Karen was so quiet in the earbuds. It could be dead silent and nobody would hear her voice because of its volume with the help of Peter's enhanced hearing. 

"It's probably about 6:20, man," Peter told the satyr, pretending he wasn't sure as to not rise the girls' suspicions any more than he already had. 

Ned nodded at him, fully knowing that Karen was in a minuscule earpiece in his ear. 

"There aren't many outdoor jobs here, so we would be extremely noticeable if we just strutted up to the front doors," MJ stated. They kept walking. 

Peter shivered slightly at the cool mid-March air. Knowing he got cold easily, one would think he brought a warmer sweater with him all the time. Here he was, wearing a long-sleeved blouse and jeans. 

Way to be prepared.

They reached the end of the forest and were met with the sight of a huge building accompanied by a ginormous open field from behind a couple of trees. Terrible for sneaking. 

"Me cago en ná" MJ swore in, was that Spanish? Peter was quite good at Spanish from school, but that didn't seem like the Spanish he learned. 

Since when did MJ speak fluent Spanish? Peter thought. Nobody else seemed to hear the slur.

"What is it, MJ?" Peter asked. The daughter of Hades kept her eyes glued to the compound. 

"This is going to be harder than we thought," she answered and turned to face them all. 

"The jet must be parked inside the building somewhere. We'll have to find a way to get in." Peter's mouth went dry but knew what they would have to do. 

"See that building over there?" Peter asked while pointing to a long building next to the main compound with the Avengers A on it. His companions nodded. 

I'm 90% sure the Talon Fighter is in there," Peter said. 

"That is a pretty good percentage," Shuri stated observantly. 

MJ rolled her eyes. "Good start. Now, how to we get in." 

"There should be a door at the back, but there will be people everywhere. They're gonna have to be knocked out," Peter answered. 

"Easy enough," Ned said with a confident smile. 

"I wouldn't be so sure," Peter told him. "Mr. Stark's AI, FRIDAY, controls the whole building, including the 'parking lot'. She would definitely notice my presence, as she automatically notifies Mr. Stark of my arrival and she would notice the presence of trespassers," he finished. 

Shuri scoffed. "I will hack Stark's AI with ease." She began to type a couple of things in on the holographic screen from her kimoyo beads. 

"I dunno...FRIDAY's pretty advance-"

"I a m i n," Shuri stated with a mischievous smirk. 

Peter grinned. "Or not."

"This code is easy, man," Shuri said while typing. Peter rolled his eyes. What else did he expect?

"Wait, this one is a lot more complicated." Peter looked at her worriedly. 

She continued typing on the hologram but looked up at Peter's silence. 

At his concerned face, she said "I'll still be able to override the security software, it'll just take sometime. I don't know why it would be so important to keep the cameras so protected."

Peter let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "According to these heat signatures, there are about 10 people in there," Shuri informed the group.

Peter noticed MJ and Ned exchange glances. "Ned and I will take all of them down," MJ stated with confidence.

"Assuming they're all mortals," Ned added.

"Cool," Peter responded. "Shuri will keep working on overriding the cameras so she can guide you to the Talon Fighter to use and, I guess that leaves me to keep watch."

The group nodded. MJ was about to walk out of the forest when Shuri caught her arm. "Wait, I should have some extra earpieces." One of the beads on her kimoyo beads lit up and she waved her hand in the hologram that appeared. Four earpieces dissolved from it!

"What the Hades?" Ned muttered. MJ glared at him for the use of her father as an expressions. He shrunk back right away.

"Shuri, how did you do that?" Peter questioned. He knew vibranium was extremely advanced, but not that advanced. 

Shuri just shrugged. "I have always been able to do it. For an unknown reason, nobody else in Wakanda has the ability." Peter raised his eyebrows. That's new. 

Shuri held out her hand with the pieces of technology for the rest of them to take from. Peter was about to grab the last one when Karen spoke in his ear. "You already have two earpieces in, Peter."

He cursed under his breath. "I'll sneak it." He took the device and brought it to his ear. He removed the smaller one with Karen with his middle finger and held it to his palm while placing the bigger earpiece with his thumb and index finger. 

He slipped the smaller device into his pocket. Shuri smiled at him. Peter took that as a sign saying "Good job, nobody found out you have an AI in your ear and that you are constantly attracting monsters everywhere you go, jeopardizing the whole mission."

Yeah, Peter felt pretty bad about always having a device running. He has been thinking about taking them out at some point, but he didn't have a good place to put them. He wasn't expecting he was going to Tennessee that day.

"How are you two getting in?" Shuri asked Ned and MJ. 

MJ smirked. "Shadow travel." Shuri just stared at her, waiting for an explanation. 

MJ showed her instead. She went under a tree to the shade and disappeared. This would take a while for Peter to get used to. 

The daughter of Hades reappeared in the shadow of the tree behind Shuri. Shuri didn't notice, still looking around the area wondering where MJ went. 

"Boo," MJ whispered in her ear. 

"AHH," Shuri shrieked. Peter and Ned burst out in laughter while Shuri panted from the adrenaline rush. 

"Magic?" Shuri asked with a monotone voice.

"Yup!" Ned answered, still giggling. 

"Hold up," Shuri yelled. MJ crosses her arms at stared at her expectantly. "Why didn't you show me that when I didn't believe you guys?" 

Why didn't we? Peter thought, feeling dumb. MJ's arms dropped to her sides. Ned answered for everyone. "We didn't think of it?" he answered with a sheepish grin. 

Shuri rolled her eyes. "You are all idiots." Peter and Ned nodded at while MJ just stared Shuri down. She seemed unfazed by this. 

"Okay, go!" Shuri yelled as she pushed MJ and Ned into a shadow. MJ saluted with a smirk and held Ned's hand. They disappeared without a word.

"We're in," MJ said through the comms. 

"Good," Shuri responded. "Ready to knock people out?"

Peter could practically hear the smirk in her voice when she said, "Ready to knock people out."

Apparently, Ned forgot to turn off his comms, so both Shuri and Peter could hear the combat going on. Who knew it was so much more violent without seeing it. 

"You guys done?" Peter asked at the sound of Ned's panting. 

"Yup!" Ned responded, probably too enthusiastically. 

"Perfect, I've finished this code," Shuri said to the right of Peter. He smiled at her then focused back on the building his friends were in. He was keeping watch for a reason. 

He really didn't mind keeping watch. He'd learned his lesson from homecoming. Plus, it was nice doing that kind of stuff with his friends.

"Okay, I hacked into the cameras." Shuri explained into the comms.

"Great. Ned and I'll get in the jet and I'll shadow travel you losers in," MJ responded. 

"Don't tire yourself out, MJ. You know what happened to your brother when-" Ned started. 

"I know, idiot. It's fine," MJ interrupted. Peter and Shuri exchanged concerned glances, but neither said anything. 

"There is a presence near the building your friends are in," Karen informed Peter in his other miniature earpiece. 

Peter looked back at the building. "Skatá," he cursed under his breath, eyes widening at his use of Ancient Greek. 

"Guys?" He said into the comms. "I think we might have a problem." 

Shuri looked up from her computer with raised brows. "Uh oh, what it is Peter?" Ned asked. 

"Is there a monster?" MJ inquired.

"Not exactly," he responded. "There's a Colonol James Rhodes at 12:00."


	7. Trying to Avoid Starting a War with War Machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unedited because of how much I stalled. Not like many people read this anyways, but I'm super sorry for the wait!

Peter's POV (I hope you guys aren't getting bored of his pov 😬)

"Are you guys sure this is the best plan?" Peter asked anxiously in his larger earpiece.

"Aw, lighten up, Peter. It'll be great," Shuri replied with a chuckle. Peter rolled his eyes.

MJ and Shuri decided it would be a better idea to have Peter confront the colonel (it's pronounced "Kur-nal," by the way) than have the two that are already in the building knock him out like they did the rest.

For an unknown reason, Peter agreed to talking Colonel Rhodes out of going in. So, here he was, walking up to his, what he would like to call friend, from behind a tree.

His mind was having...mixed emotions.

He wouldn't get mad at you if he found out you were distracting him, Peter.

Peter, you just ruined a friendship.

You're the best choice for this job, Peter! And hey, it's better than watch duty.

Why did you agree to this, Peter?! You're a wimp!

This is a brilliant plan, Peter. Colonel Rhodes is a pretty good fighter, so it's better to avoid conflict.

YOU'RE AN IDIOT! PETER, YOU ARE A FU-...we'll stop there.

Peter was way out of his element. He'd had lots of practice fighting people. He did it every night, for gods sake (maybe he was getting the hang of dropping the whole "Jesus Christ" and "Hell" thing).

Peter could probably take out Colonel Rhodes with ease, but MJ and Shuri still thought he was a beginner. Peter ran up to the colonel with ease and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop his journey to the big flat building ahead.

Apparently, Rhodes' brain registered Peter's gesture as a threat, and his reflexes kicked in.

Peter just dodged the unexpected attempt at a punch to the face, thanks to his Spidey Sense. "Colonel Rhodes, it's me!" Peter reassured his friend.

Rhodes' eyes widened. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Pete!" he said hurriedly, placing his hands on the teenager's shoulders.

Peter chuckled and started removing the hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "Hey, it's oka-"

Rhodes' eyes crinkled. "What did I tell you about calling me 'Colonel Rhodes'?" he interrupted.

He looked at Peter expectantly then when the boy opened his mouth, Rhodes said, "Call me Rhodey, please, Peter," he answered himself before Peter could.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly at the man. "Yeah, right, sorry, Rhodey."

Rhodey nodded in satisfaction. "Now, why are you here? It isn't a lab day."

Peter really had to think ahead and get better at 'this part of the job.' "I uhh," he trailed out.

"Come on, Peter," MJ reprimanded him in the comms. Apparently, it worked—sort of.

"I needed to do some fine-tuning on my...shooters. Ya know, just in case something pops up." Obviously, Peter was talking about his web-shooters, but MJ and Shuri were presumably listening to his conversation.

"Peter, you don't have to hide the fact that you're Spi-" Peter quickly slapped his hand over Rhodey's mouth to stop him from finishing a sentence that would completely expose his identity to two too many people.

When he thought about it, Peter noticed that Rhodey's slap-to-the-mouth probably hurt a ton with his super-strength. Whoops.

Rhodey glared at Peter but fortunately had enough human-decency not to lick his hand.

"You uh, you never know who could be listening," Peter said with a grin, hoping Rhodey wouldn't be suspicious. He also wished his friends weren't either.

Rhodey grabbed Peter's wrist and gently lowered the hand from his mouth. The Avenger nodded in understanding. Peter's smile softened, feeling grateful.

Peter shifted from side to side with his hands behind his back, one of his nervous tics. "Alright, well, have fun," Rhodey told him with a soft smile and continued walking to the building with the jets.

Peter nodded and stepped aside so he could get by. He awkwardly stood there for about five seconds.

Then his brain cells decided to work, and it clicked. Peter's eyes widened, and he jumped in front of Rhodey to stop him from walking any more.

"Wait!" Peter yelled way too loudly. He could practically hear his crush's facepalm as she listened. The thought made him determined to get through this.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him but stopped and let him continue.

"I uh, I wanted to catch up a bit, ya know?" Peter told the Avenger with his hands on his hips.

Yeah, he was definitely selling it.

"We just talked the other day, but alright," Rhodey said with a soft smile. It was true; the last time Peter came to the lab, he spoke with Rhodey.

Rhodey didn't seem to understand that Peter was lying. It was probably because the boy hadn't ever had a reason to lie to him.

It made Peter feel bad, but he was used to it. At least he knows about Spider-Man.

The only people that knew about Peter's alter-ego were Ned, Aunt May, Mr. Stark, Pepper (yes, he called her Pepper), Natasha Romanoff (Nat), and Rhodey.

He wanted it to stay like that, but at the same time, he was itching to tell MJ and Shuri. Maybe he would in the next couple of days if he felt ready.

Technically, one other person knew about Peter's secret identity, but he'd rather not think about him. At all.

They stood there for a second, Rhodey staring at Peter expectantly as the boy seemed to find his shoes incredibly fascinating.

"Peter, you are doing terrible. Start a conversation! Even small talk would work well enough," Shuri reprimanded in his ear, accent thick.

Peter shook out of the daze he wasn't aware he was in and looked from his sneakers to the man in front of him.

"So, how's Mr. Stark?" Not bad, Peter. Not bad. Rhodey seemed to think about the question.

"Alright, Peter, you can start finishing up," Shuri stated in the comms. "Rhodes will see us fly out, but it will have to do. Ned is going to hold his hand out the door for you to grab onto. He seems pretty sure that you'll come up the jet with ease. We're trusting him on this one."

She was right. As long as the girls wouldn't be watching, he can stick to the side of the Talon Fighter.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Tony in a bit. I guess he's been excessively cooped up in his lab again," Rhodey responded with a sigh. Peter hummed in response while making an effort not to look behind Rhodey continually.

"Well, how about Pepper?" Peter asked. Sure, he was stalling, but he genuinely enjoyed hearing about his, what one could say, second family.

"Oh, Tony bought a new place in Miami. Pepper is working from their home there," Rhodey explained.

That made Peter smile. Pepper deserved a break. Then a thought occurred to him. "Won't she be lonely while Mr. Stark is still here?"

"No, she's not lonely. She has Happy and-"

Engines. Peter could hear the engines. Shuri was in the Talon Fighter. "I'm in." Speak of the devil, Shuri just informed him.

Very helpful, Shuri. "Obviously," he said through his comms. It didn't really matter anymore if Rhodey heard him. He could hear the loud engines, as well.

"That's not a quinjet engine," Rhodey muttered to himself, which, if anyone hadn't caught on already, Peter could hear with his senses despite the loud jet.

Di immortales and Rhodey's big brain. More accidental Ancient Greek. Fun.

"I'm opening the big door at the front of the building," Shuri informed Peter. "Stay close, but try not to end up underneath the jet."

"Uh huh," was all Peter said. "Are you and MJ going to be watching me come in, by any chance?" He asked. Better safe than sorry.

MJ answered this time. "Why, do you want us to?"

Peter's eyes widened in panic. "Nonononono that's okay, just wondering," The daughter of Hades didn't respond.

"I'm going to go check out what's happening in there," Rhodey said. He started running towards the side door in front of them.

Rhodey was fast, but thanks to his enhanced abilities, Peter was just a little faster. He grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"What the hell, Peter!" Rhodey yelled. Peter grimaced but didn't say anything; although, it was difficult not to apologize.

The massive garage-like door opened, and the Talon Fighter flew out in the most dramatic fashion a jet can fly.

Peter grinned at the jet while Rhodey looked flabbergasted but furious at the same time.

"Hey, that's the Royal Talon Fighter! King T'Challa arrived in that!" The older man yelled after his shock faded slightly.

"I'm super sorry about this, Rhodey!" Peter apologized as he started to run towards the jet where the door on the side began opening.

Rhodey started yelling some more, but Peter blocked it out and focused on the Talon Fighter's loud noise getting closer to him. He could spot Ned at the door.

Surely the Avenger was chasing him, but Peter had already grabbed on to his best friends' hand when the jet was low enough for him to jump with his enhanced abilities.

Peter stepped on, and the door started closing behind him. Right before it was completely shut, Ned yelled, "Bye and sorry, Colonel!" to the annoyed Rhodey on the ground staring up at the teenagers.

Peter noticed Rhodey's eyes flick towards the driver's window where Shuri was. Rhodey, without a doubt, saw the Princess of Wakanda salute him before she sped off higher into the sky.

The door closed, and it was almost silent. "Great work, team!" Shuri yelled from where she was flying the jet at the front, breaking the ice.

"Woo!" The boys yelled, high-fiving stereotypically. Then he heard a little chuckle a little closer to him than Shuri.

Peter looked to the side of the room to see MJ sitting at a bar-like area in some fancy gold and silver chairs, her book laying on the turquoise counter mid-read.

Apparently, she already finished her other book, because this was "Walking a Tightrope: an Autobiography by Pepper Potts." Good book. Peter's read it.

"You did horrible," the daughter of Hades told him with a smirk. Peter giggled a bit. He wasn't an idiot; Peter knew she was joking whenever she said something like that. He loved MJ's sense and of humour. It was unique and always succeeded at making him laugh.

It was true; Peter used to have a crush on MJ because of her looks (and the fact she was always reading). He barely knew her, and she only just became captain of their decathlon team.

When Peter learned about her real personality, it did not help his crush. The way she ignores him (at least, tries to) makes him blush, which, Peter noticed is probably strange.

Peter found her passion for human equality and women's rights incredibly empowering. 

And don't even get him started on when MJ calls him a dork. Ugh. He starts internally screaming when she addresses him like that in any way, shape, or form. It's probably not a good thing, but he couldn't help it. 

"You're staring, idiot." Peter closed his eyes quickly and took a few deep breathes. Don't freak out don't freak out don't freak out. She called you idiot because you were being an idiot, chill.

He opened his eyes. MJ was looking at him like he grew a third arm, but what else was new. The demigods made eye-contact for a moment, but the roll of MJ's eyes made Peter avert his own. 

Don't think he missed the soft smile across MJ's face though.

He took that moment to check out the Royal Talon Fighter.

Shuri was flying the jet at the front. The huge window plus a ceiling window made the interior quite light. The whole thing was incredibly modern. All the chairs were floating as well. The floor and roof was shiny black with modern gold mosaics. 

The chair Shuri was in was the biggest. It was a sleek black and gold while there were two smaller white and gold chairs on either side of her.   
In the middle of the room, there was a short table with a gold magical looking orb floating above it.

Lastly, there was a couch area at the right of the room where Ned was sitting wiggling his eyebrows at Peter.

Peter rolled his eyes as a response, but walked about to sit beside him until Shuri spoke up. 

"Peter, why don't you come sit up here." Peter's eyes lit up at the idea and accepted the offer. 

Once sat down, Shuri starts talking. "So, it will be a little cold in Rosehill. You might want to bundle up." Peter cringed. 

"Uhm, I tend to get cold really easy, but I don't have any extra clothing..." he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

Shuri chuckled. "That's fine. We have many extras," she informed the whole group like it was obvious. 

Peter nodded, but decided to change the subject to ignore his embarrassment. "How do you fly this thing?"

"Oh, I'm not actually flying it," Shuri answered matter-a-factly. Peter raised an eyebrow, but looked at the controls and suddenly understood. 

"It's flying in it's own. It's like an auto-pilot-type-thing." Shuri nodded. "Why are you here, then?" Peter asked with a confused grin. 

Shuri crossed her arms at Peter and smirked. Then, according to her face, she had an ingenious idea. 

She started tapping things on her Kimoyo beads until a hologram projected from a bead and turned into a piece of black vibranium. It looked like magic, but it probably wasn't because Peter didn't know much about the metal. 

She did a few hand gestures and stared at the block of metal, when all of a sudden, it started morphing into meme shades. Peter gaped. 

She put on her brand new sunglasses. "It makes me look cooler."

Peter could hear Ned bursting out in laughter from the couch behind him, but Peter was still trying to figure out how the Wakandan did such a feat. 

"How did you-" 

"Doesn't matter," Shuri interrupted before Peter could question her any more. He was sure people asked all the time how vibranium works, so he did what she wished, and didn't question it.

He shifted his gaze towards his crush behind him. She was reading contently. It made him smile to see the soft grin the daughter of Hades had on her face. Peter loved that smile. 

Then he looked over to his best friend. Ned was also looked pretty content... Yeah, he was sleeping. The satyr was passed out on the couch. The gods know why, but Peter just shrugged and looked to Shuri. 

She was grinning out the window. Peter raised an eyebrow at this at first, but once he averted his eyes from her and to the window, he understood. 

It was absolutely beautiful.

They were above the clouds and could see the sunset perfectly. Peter sighed contently and allowed the unusual, but comforting silence to stay until they got to Rosehill, Tennessee.


	8. Not Dora, But It’ll Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new POV.   
> They're be swearing in this one and probably in future ones, as well.   
> It tried keeping it PG, okay?
> 
> I really appreciate comments, so, yeah, please comment and stuff.

Harley's POV

The watch fit perfectly. 

Of course, it wasn't a Dora watch; his sister was 11 years old, not 6 anymore. She still didn't believe him when he told her about how her old watch got destroyed, but he'd given up trying years ago. 

This watch was a fake gold one. The cheapest one Harley could find, but still special (and all he could afford. He was still in school. Plus his money got stolen all the time at school). 

"Thanks, Harley!" Abby yelled when her brother clasped the watch on her wrist. Right away, she hugged him, which led to the 15-year-old getting knocked over into his bed they were sitting on. 

"You're welcome, Button," he responded with laughter. 

"Supper!" Harley heard his mom, Taffida, yell from their dining room. 

Harley and Abby paused and looked at each other. "Coming!" they replied in sync, the younger holding her hands to her mouth. 

The siblings jumped up from the bed. Harley ruffled Abby's identical but much longer caramel hair, and they both travelled the couple doors down to their dining room. 

No one would've been able to tell, but Harley was nervous. 

That was an understatement. Harley was terrified. His hands were clammy and shaky, but his smirk remained. He was good at that. 

Some could say, too good. 

Why was he so anxious? Well, he had a big announcement for his family. 

Harley took a seat beside his sister and took a look at the meal. 

Simple but delicious chicken and broccoli were awaiting the siblings on the table. Yes, both Harley and Abby liked the vegetable. 

Something should be cleared up. Technically, Abby was Harley's half-sister. They both had different dads, but both left Taffida. 

Let's just say, it put a damper on their mom's everyday mood. 

The siblings didn't consider themselves anything less than full siblings, none the less. 

Harley cut some chicken and was about to put it in his mouth when he felt the glare from his mother across from him. 

He looked up and put his fork down after the "deadly" look from Taffida. 

"Harley Keener, how many times do I have to tell you to start eating after we pray?" she asked in an intimidatingly calm voice. 

"Sorry, Mom," Harley apologized. He got distracted and forgot. Again. Then Taffida's eyes softened. 

"Is that another black eye from school, Harley?" she asked in a calm and sincere voice. 

The teenager did a simple nod but proceeded to look down in expectation for his mom to say grace. 

Harley heard her make a sad sound but left it at that. The whole family was used to it, but Taffida didn't know why her son got picked on. 

While their mom started to recite, Harley felt something on his arm. 

He glanced over inconspicuously and saw it was Abby's hand reaching for his. 

Abby was a smart 11-year-old and knew why Harley got bullied at school.

"Amen," the siblings repeated after their mother. They let go of hands and began eating. 

"So, Mom," Harley started as he raised his head level to Taffida's. 

She smiled at him, silently telling him to continue and that he has her attention. 

"I uh," he cleared his throat. "I have a little announcement." A big announcement. His mother looked intrigued. 

Harley took a deep breath and could feel Abby's hand back in his like it was meant to be there. She gave him an encouraging smile, and Harley could tell she knew exactly what he would inform their mom of. 

He looked back to Taffida, her fork in-hand. Fuck it. 

"I'm gay."

And suddenly, the form was gone from her hand and on the floor. 

Another thing gone was Taffida's smile.

It was worse than gone; it was flipped. 

Harley felt his hand being squeezed. 

He looked over to Abby and focused his gaze on her shiny brown eyes. The brown eyes, contrary to his steel-blue ones. She looked scared. Too scared for an older brother's liking. 

Then he was forced to stop when his sister's eyes shifted to their mother's. Harley gulped at Taffida's furious face. 

It made him want to shut his own eyes and ignore his mom's fury, but he stayed strong.

"You're joking." It wasn't a question. It wasn't even a statement. It was an order. 

Despite his fear, Harley smirked. "Nope," he said, popping the p. He saw Abby grinning slightly in the corner of his eye. 

"Out." Harley's face dropped. Abby's face turned to-anger?

"You can't kick him out!" she shouted and stood up, taking Harley with him because of their still-clasped hands. 

Taffida stood up, as well. "I can, and I will. We don't accept fags here." Abby lost it. 

Harley's little sister swung forward and punched their mom in the face. Harley could only stand in shock. 

The wholesome and adorable little girl he loved was punching his mom. He smiled. 

Abby started running towards him but got stopped. "Not so fast, young lady," Taffida said as she yanked Abby backwards into a "hug."

"Don't fucking touch her," Harley yelled and started running towards his sister. Abby was struggling in Taffida's grip. 

Harley was willing to do anything for Abby. As long as she had a good life, he was happy. It pained him so much to see his sister in so much distress. 

All of a sudden, Harley stopped. He looked into his mother's eyes. What was he doing? Sure, his mom didn't accept him, but he knew she would never do anything to Abby. 

"Fine. I'll leave. For Abby." If he stayed in that house, he would never be accepted. He needed a life without his mother. He needed a life for his sister. 

Harley could see tears start falling from his sister's eyes. He felt them form in his own too. "No," Abby said softly. "No, no no NO," she screamed, now beginning to try and escape Taffida's hold. 

"Harley, you can't leave!" She yelled, sobbing. It broke Harley's heart. He walked towards her, his mother allowing it. 

He put a hand on Abby's cheek rubbing the tears away despite his own. She stopped struggling and looked Harley in the eyes. 

He smiled at her. "I'll be okay, Button." He noticed she was holding onto her watch. 

"Live your life."

Harley looked up to his mom. She was glaring at him once again. "Leave. Now," she said, venom seeping through her voice. 

Harley nodded curtly and began walking towards the door. He opened it, but before his sister had one last thing to say. "I love you, Harley."

He could hear the utter sadness in her voice. "I love you too, Abby," he said without looking at her. That would be too hard to bear. 

And he shut the door with a loud bang. 

•~•

Harley shot up and started panting. Then, realization hit him that it was just a nightmare, and he slumped back down on the cold concrete beneath him, backpack under his head. 

Harley kept having this stupid dream. Well, it wasn't a dream; it was a memory. A flashback, if you will. 

A flashback from 6 months ago. Most would say it was a flashback to when Harley's mom kicked him out, but he thought of it as the last time he saw his sister. He was 16 now, and that was not the age to be homeless on the late March streets.

The night was cold. One would think an evening in late March wouldn't be too bad, but luck was not on Harley's side. Of course, he was used to being in the cold.

The teen sat up properly and curled into his thin but effective green hoodie, ignoring the stench reminding him of how long he'd been wearing the same clothes. 

He felt something on his face but noticed his nose was running. "Damn it," he muttered. Harley had a cold. Again. 

He sniffled and started gathering his things to keep moving. Harley was always moving around his small town to attempt to get away from the monsters. 

His current hiding place was just an alleyway. Yes, it sounds dangerous, and it is, but there's a slightly smaller chance of getting killed by the common two-headed wolf thing that seemed to love trying to murder Harley there. 

Saving the perfectly wrapped up Subway sandwich he found in the garbage for later, he stood up and began to walk down the oh-so-familiar street of Rosehill. 

Automatically speeding past any pedestrians, as he usually does (not like there were many in the middle of the night) and started thinking about what he usually thinks about. The monsters.

What were they?

Where did they come from?

Why don't they care about anyone else?

Why doesn't anyone else care?

Why do they hate me?

Harley stopped abruptly. Since when did he get so far? How fast was he walking? 

For some reason, Harley walked (ran?) to the entrance of Rosehill. It was almost silent. 

Almost. 

Harley heard footsteps and faint voices but decided to ignore them and find a place to sit. 

It wasn't that hard. He looked to his left and saw some sort of sign that probably had information about Rosehill on it, but he was too tired from lack of sleep to tell. Dyslexia didn't help either.

Harley walked over to it and slumped down against it. He decided sleeping was probably smart. Harder said than done. It's difficult to fall asleep outside in the cold, fearing for your life, you know?

He closed his eyes in an attempt at slumber, but the footsteps were getting closer. He could basically feel them through the ground underneath him. 

In other words, his ADHD did not allow sleep of any sort at that moment. 

"Are you sure this is the one?" Harley heard a boy ask. 

"Yeah, he stinks," another probably teenage male answered. 

Harley's shut eyes crinkled. Were they talking about him? Because they weren't wrong. 

The steps stopped. They're right in front of me, aren't they?

Yep. Harley opened his eyes and swept his messy, dirty hair that desperately needed a haircut and a good washing to an interesting sight, to say the least. Interesting for many reasons. 

There were two fairly normal looking girls, except one of them had a sword? Then there were the boys. 

It sounded offensive, but one of them, the short chubby one, was standing really strange. Like, his knees were all wonky.

Then, the other one was dressed like they were in Canada instead of Tennessee. Hat, neck warmer, scarf, two jackets(?), snow pants, winter boots, the whole shebang. There was barely any snow on the ground!

"Hey." Smile and wave. They looked concerned. How kind. 

The bundled-up boy held out his right gloved hand to shake. "Peter," he introduced himself with a smile. Harley stood up and took his own from his pocket but stopped right before shaking the boy's hand. 

Shit. Peter's hand flopped to his side, his mouth dropping. Gasps from all four of them followed the action. Yes, even the moody looking one.

Did he forget to mention? Harley's right hand was kind of...mangled.

Imagine a crumpled-up piece of paper, but if the paper was a hand. That's what it looked like (sorry).

Let's just say Harley had been ambidextrous for about two weeks.

"How did that-," the shorter boy started but got interrupted. 

"No time, Ned," the moody one said. Ned. Got it. 

The other girl cleared her throat. "I'm Shuri," she stated in a tone showing Harley she was very proud that she was Shuri. 

"She's the Princess of Wakanda," Ned stage whispered to him. Harley smirked. He knew the others would think he'd be shocked and start bowing or something. 

Instead, he crossed his arms, hiding his right hand, just how he liked it. 

"How old are you?" He was right. They were surprised, but Shuri recovered quickly and mimicked Harley's arms. 

"Does it matter how old she is?" the other girl asked, aggressively beating Shuri to a response. 

Harley's eyes widened, and he started waving his hands in front of him in defence. "No, no no, no, no! Not what I meant, not what I meant!" 

Was the area around her getting darker, or was it just him? Jesus (sorry, Mom) she was scary as hell (sorry, Mom). 

Shuri put her arm in front of her. "16," she said, intrigued. 

"Alright, same. Do you go to school?" Harley asked. 

Shuri's eyes narrowed. "No," she stated simply. Then Harley unexpectedly held out his left hand in a fist. 

"Heeyyyyyy same again," he said, which resulted in Shuri returning the fist bump and grinning. 

"I hope you aren't a dumbass, though," she commented. 

Harley scoffed. "Never. I make a damn good potato gun." Shuri laughed.

The other girl seemed to let out a breath and cleared her throat. 

"Oh, right," Shuri said. 

Shuri pointed to her. "That's Michelle Jones." Shuri glanced at MJ getting a nod in return. She smiled. "You can call her MJ."

"You two seem close," Harley commented. He earned a laugh from Shuri and a smirk from MJ. 

"No, we met today," Shuri said. Harley opened his mouth to word his shock. "Moving on," she waved him off. His mouth snapped closed.

"Goat boy is Ned Leeds." Shuri held out her arms, presenting off the boy. Ned grinned and waved awkwardly fast.

Harley raised an eyebrow. Or, he tried to. He couldn't actually do that, and it drove him nuts. "Goat boy?"

"Yeah, he's half-goat," Peter stepped in. Harley's eyes narrowed but signalled someone to keep explaining. He was giving it a chance. 

Ned started taking his pants off. "AH, what the hell, dude! There are ladies here, have some decency!" Harley shielded his eyes at the disrespect. 

Peter chuckled. "It's fine, man." He took his hands off his eyes. 

Goat boy. The name fits. "That explains the wonky knees," Harley commented nonchalantly. 

Everyone nodded in agreement while Ned pouted and crossed his arms jokingly.

"Seriously though, what is he?" Harley wondered. He wasn't necessarily surprised by the hooves replacing Ned's feet and the tiny horn stubs that Harley just noticed. No, he was more excited for an explanation. 

An explanation for all the sleepless nights. All the attacks. All the monsters.

"I'm a satyr," Ned answered matter a factly before Peter spoke up. 

"Maybe we should hurry this up," Peter said, his voice cracking worriedly. 

MJ and Ned looked at him, incredibly concerned, while Shuri and Harley stared at them blankly.

"I'm trying to say something's coming." Then realization hit them. All they could do was wait for the "something" to arrive.

MJ got her sword at the ready, and the others started to pull themselves together. "Another monster?" Shuri whisper-asked. Everyone nodded, including Harley, but Peter seemed to be the only one that noticed. He sent Harley a confused yet friendly look. It was hard to explain, but Harley just looked away.

They've definitely fought monsters before. This was going to be interesting. 

It was fast. 

One second it's complete silence; the next, there's a wolf-like creature behind Harley. 

Harley didn't like that. "Rude," he muttered, and, in a flash, Harley was behind the monster, though not as effective with one hand, punching its butt. 

"That's an orthrus!" Peter and MJ yelled simultaneously. Somewhat creepy, but okay. MJ looked really surprised about their synchronization, while Peter just seemed embarrassed. 

Thanks for putting a name to the faces that have been terrorizing me for months, I guess, Harley thought to himself with an eye roll. 

In a second, the other four teenagers began running towards Harley and the orthrus. Apparently, the creature was an idiot because it focused more on the people running at it than the person assaulting it from the back (he added kicks. It's gettin' spicy, folks).

It was effective enough for the monster to have trouble biting anyone's head off, but it wasn't enough.

I'm never enough. 

Then it was dust. Golden dust was all over the ground where the orthrus was and Harley. Ew, and in his hair. 

He shook his hair with his right hand and pushed it out of his face to see the cause of the creature's death. 

In front of Harley stood MJ in all her moody glory. Resting bitch face on, sword forward in a position showing that she slashed, going for the head and succeeding.

Harley flopped on the ground dramatically. "Good job, team," he said tiredly despite the fact he just met these people. 

"You uh, aren't shocked?" Shuri asked with furrowed brows.

"Nah, I'm used to it now. You guys do this often or something?" MJ finally brought down her sword and nodded, along with Ned and Peter. Shuri just stood there awkwardly. Harley assumed she was new to monsters.

"Wait!" Harley yelled, apparently startling Ned to baaa? He quickly covered his mouth and waved his hand, signalling him to continue.

Harley huffed in amusement and started explaining himself. "How in the world did you use that?" he asked, pointing to MJ's foldable sword.

"Oh, I know this one!" Shuri but in before MJ could answer. MJ just smirked at her, giving her the go-ahead. 

"According to these weirdos," she started, pointing at Ned and MJ, "the metal is called celestial bronze, and it's magical. It's one of the only metals that can kill monsters." 

"Gimme," Harley said, making a grabbing gesture. MJ rolled her eyes but passed the sword over and crossed her arms.

Harley's eyes practically glimmered once he took the weapon. He held it with his left hand (duh) and started poking at his mangled one, drawing some blood. "Hm," was all he said, then handed MJ her sword back.

Everyone gave him disgusted yet concerned looks. He shrugged. "I can't feel it at all. The sword is good, though." 

Peter laughed awkwardly and walked towards Harley. "So...how about we try this again." Harley raised an eyebrow. 

Then there was a hand being held out. A left one this time. "I'm Peter Parker. What's your name?" 

Harley chuckled and took Peter's hand with his in-tact one. "It's Harley Keener."

Peter's face changed. It looked like he was thinking. "I feel like I've heard your name mentioned before."

That was weird. Why would someone from New York hear of a boy from a small town in Tennessee?

"Give me a bit; it'll come to me," Peter said, eyes furrowed. Then he started muttering to himself. Harley decided to ignore it. 

"So Harley, what's your story?" Shuri asked. Harley looked over at her. 

He shook his head but smiled and began making eye contact with everyone there with a certain desperation. 

"No. I need an explanation. For everything," Harley told them. They looked at him strangely. That was happening a lot. 

"Please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. That one was about 3200 words! Longest chapter I've done. I hope you liked it!


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